Sister Species: Lessons from the Chimpanzee surveys of the natural
sciences through studies of our closest relative, our sister species
the chimpanzee. In the course of examining chimpanzee behavior,
ecology, morphology, physiology, "language," intelligence, genetics
and systematics we will learn how the scientific method helps us
understand the natural world. Chimpanzees are a particularly
informative species to anthropologists because they are far enough
removed from humans that we can examine them more objectively than
we can examine ourselves, yet they are so closely related to us that
much of what we learn about our sister species applies to us, as
well. Through films, labs and writing assignments we will get an
intimate look at every aspect of chimpanzees.

Among the questions we will ask: Why do animals use - or not use -
tools? Why are animals aggressive? What are the roots of war? How is
chimp anatomy designed to solve food-getting problems? How does
physiology influence what chimps can eat - and what's healthy to
eat? Can chimps use language? Do chimpanzees use of medicine? Just
how different are chimpanzee bones, muscles and brains from our own?

A series of labs will bring these issues home to students in the
most intimate way possible. Students will be encouraged to eat a
chimp diet for a day and to write about their cravings and the
meaning of them. Students will keep a diary of their communication
patterns and comment on the uses and meaning of language. The
similarity of human and chimp disease will be investigated, and
students will find out how they'd fare in a doctor-less chimp world.
Chimpanzees are the door through which we will enter a world of
science that will lead us to a better understanding of all of
nature - and of ourselves.